Alexander and Jennifer Clark Performing Arts Center

When Alexander was a 7th grader, he founded his company, Technolutions, which has served the education industry for more than two decades. In 2000, when Alexander was a college freshman, Technolutions introduced Slate, its flagship information management system. Alexander chose New Haven for Technolutions corporate headquarters, and its illuminated signage adorns the top of the Gold Building downtown, a testament to his investment in calling New Haven his corporate home. Slate is now the preeminent technology solution for higher education admissions and advancement, trusted by more than 950 colleges and universities worldwide. Over the past four years, the Slate Launchpad training program has brought more than 1,800 professionals to New Haven with more than 7,200 hotel nights and generating millions of dollars in local economic impact. Alexander was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Quinnipiac University in 2018 for his work as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Technolutions’ annual user conference, the Slate Innovation Summit, was launched at the Shubert Theatre in 2013.

In 2000, Jennifer Staple Clark, then a sophomore at Yale University, founded Unite For Sight in her dorm room. The non-profit is now a leader both in global health education and in providing cost-effective care to the world's poorest people. The organization empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness.  For the past 15 years, Unite For Sight holds their annual conference at Yale and the Shubert Theatre each Spring, attracting 2,000 national and international attendees. These attendees stay at area hotels, and shop and dine at local businesses, further contributing to New Haven’s economic growth.

Alexander and Jennifer together founded Slate School, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit elementary school that cultivates, fosters ingenuity, and inspires a deep passion for lifelong learning and discovery. Sited on a 25-acre nature-based campus in North Haven, Connecticut, Slate School is the only independent elementary school in the United States to offer need-blind admissions and to meet 100% of all demonstrated need for each admitted student.